Pressure actuated valve

ABSTRACT

A package including a container for receiving fluid composition and propellant therein. A dispensing assembly mounted on the container which includes a body formed with a passageway communicating with the interior of the container, a valve member having an enlarged surface which is acted upon solely by the material under pressure in the container normally to close the passageway to prevent the flow of material from the container, and valve actuating means for shifting the valve member to effect fluid flow communication between the passageway and the interior of the container for dispensing said composition.

United States Patent Lo {4 Aug. 8, 1972 PRESSURE ACTUATED VALVE3,542,253 11/1970 Weber "2255123262245;

3,416,711 12/1968 Gross 4 [72] Mei 2,514,030 7/1950 Coyle.;....222/402.13 [73] Assignee: S. C. Johnson 4 ne, Wis. 2,363,521 1 1/1944 Grant ..222/495 X [22] Filed: Jan. 6, 1970 mmary Emminer Roben BReeves [21] Appl. No.: 901 Assistant Examiner-Thomas E. KocovskyAttorney -Joseph T. Kivlm, Jr. and Thomas A. Hodge [521 11.8. C1...222/94, 222/4021, 222/40225 ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d 83/14 [57] v[58] Field of Search .222/4021, 402.15, 402.18, A g mcludms a contamerfor e g flwd 222/402.2, 402.24, 402.25, 95, 96, 394, 495, 4 Compositiond propellant y Afilsppnsmg 94 sembly mounted on the container whichincludes a body formed with a passageway glommuniiaetinlg with theinterior of the container, a v ve mem r aving [56] Reerences Cited anenlarged surface which is acted upon solely by the UNITED STATES PATENTSmaterial under pressure in the C(glllaialm' nofrmally to close thepassageway to prevent e ow o materra from the container, and valveactuating means for shifting the valve member to effect fluid flowcommu- 2,854,176 9/1958 Edwards ..222/402.25 nication between thepassageway and the interior of "222, the container for disp nsingsaidcomp sition. no 3,419,195 12/ 1968 Assalit ..222/402.1 4 Claims, 12Drawing Figures fzi PATENTEDAUB elm 3.682.355

sum 2 or 3 PATENTEDAUB 8 1972 saw 3 OF 3 PRESSURE ACTUATED VALVE Thisinvention relates to pressurized packages such as those generallyreferred to as aerosol dispensers for example, and more particularly tosuch packages including a container for a fluid composition, apressurized propellant for discharging same and a dispensing assemblycontrolling the discharge.

Heretofore, a substantial number and variety of dispensing assemblieshave been developed for sealing various types of content in aerosolcontainers and for dispensing same under various conditions; and whilethe assemblies themselves are physically small, they are fairly complexand represent an important part of the cost of producing aerosolpackages. Thus, efforts are constantly being made to simplify theconstruction and assembly of such units and to find less costlyarrangements.

As far as I am presently aware, all such assemblies employ a rigidpassageway, a valve seat and a valve body moveable relative to the seatto open and close the passageway, means, usually a spring or otherresilient material to urgethe valve body to rest on the valve seat tomaintain the passageway closed, and means operable by an external force,such as manual force, to move the valvebody against the force of thepreviously mentioned means to open the passageway.

I have conceived, by my invention, an effective solution to the problemspresented and have actually constructed a successful and commerciallydesirable em-- bodiment of this concept according to which I am able toproduce a simpler and less expensive dispensing assembly with fewercomponents and, therefore a better package of the class described thanpresently known assemblies of comparable performance.

Essentially, my invention resides in the provision of an aerosol packagewherein the dispensing assembly includes a valve member and a valveseat, the two normally cooperating to seal the pressurized contentwithin the container, the net force acting on the valve member beingderived solely from the pressure within the container.

Those persons skilled in the art appreciate the fact that the mostcommonly used propellants are maintained under sufficient pressure tocause same to liquify and, in some instances to be dissolved oremulsified in the product. As the volume of liquid is reduced by usage,some of the liquid propellant vaporizes into the head space of thecontainer. Thus, the pressure of propellant in the container remainssubstantially constant until all of the fluid composition that containsthe active ingredient is expelled. This characteristic of the propellantenables me to employ it to close a valve in the dispensing assembly, andby selecting my parts properly, to seal the contents of the containeragainst leakage.

Thus, I provide a package of the class including a container, a fluidcomposition in the container, propellant means also in the container fordischarging the composition from the container, and a dispensingassembly mounted in the container and comprising a body formed withpassageway means communicating with the interior of the container, avalve member formed with a surface constructed and arranged to be actedupon by material under pressure in the container normally to close thepassageway to prevent the flow of material from the container, a valveseat against which the valve member bears when in normal passagewayclosing position, the net force acting on the valve member to seat samebeing derived solely from the pressure within the container, and meansshifting the valve member relative to the seat means and against theforce acting upon the valve member from within the container to effectfluid flow communication between the passageway and the interior of thecontainer.

The passageway may comprise simply a bore communicating at one end withatmosphere and at the other with the interior of the container and thevalve member may act to close the passageway by engaging a suitable seatsurrounding the passageway opening at its entrance to the container. Forthis latter purpose, the dispenser assembly body may be-recessed toreceive a resilient seating material and the valve member may be formedwith a matching, upstanding rib or bead to engage and seat against same;or the dispenser may be lined with a soft plastic or other suitablematerial so that it serves as a proper seat and additional resilientmaterials are not needed.

The means used to unseat the valve member and open the passageway may bea plunger which is formed with a bore that constitutes at least part ofthe passageway; or it may be threaded and fit within the passageway toimprove mixing of propellant and composition when both are discharged.In any case, I prefer that such valve activating means engage the valvemember eccentrically so that the valve member tips as it opens. In thisway, the force needed to open the valve will be less than the net forceacting on the valve member by the internal pressure.

As another feature of my invention, I provide means to assure that thevalve member, which may be unattached to the body of the dispenserassembly, will remain in the vicinity of the seat and will not drop tothe bottom of the can. Thus, I may form a valve guide on the dispenserassembly body; and this guide may comprise a short sleeve dependent fromthe body and surrounding the valve member. The sleeve may have aninwardly extending annular rib, or several tabs, so dimensioned that thevalve member is confined between the sleeve or tabs and the valve seat.The sleeve or tabs may be formed of resilient material so that the valvemember may be snapped into position during assembly of the unit.

It will be appreciated that the present concept takes advantage ofBernoullis principle to assure positive closing and sealing of thevalve. Thus, a pressure drop occurs across the valve member when same isopen tending to move it to closed position. As the opening force isrelaxed, the valve member moves towards closed position and the pressureon the downstream side decreases as the discharging fluid moves throughthe more restricted opening, thus further increasing the pressure dropacross the valve member and effectively increasing the closing andsealing force.

The present invention lends itself readily to vapor taps, if such are tobe used; and these may be formed in the body of the dispenser assemblyor in a dip tube-or both, as will become apparent hereinafter.

Further specific features and advantages of the invention'will behereinafter more fully set forth with reference to the annexed drawings,showing a presently surized package according to the present inventionwith the valve closed;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 1, but showing thevalve open;

FIG. 4 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a package similarto that of FIG. 1, but illustrating the use of a vapor tap;

FIG.,5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, but illustrating a furtherembodiment of the present valve;

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating yet anotherembodiment of the present valve;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a variation of theembodiment of FIG. 6; and

FIGS. 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are cross-sectional views illustrating stillfurther embodiments.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and more particularly to FIGS.1, 2 and 3 thereof, there is shown a pressurized package of the classdescribed comprising generally a container 10 and a dispensing assembly11 mounted on the container and comprising a body 12 formed with apassageway 14 communicating with the interior of the container. It willbe seen that in the present embodiment, the passageway 14 has ahorizontal leg, is open to atmosphere at the side of the body and'avertical leg open to the container at the bottom of the body. Thevertical leg of the passageway 14 actually is a bore 15 in a verticalpin or plunger 16 slideable in a bore 17 in the body 12. An actuatinglever 19 is mounted on top of the body for pivotal movement about a pin20 and can depress the plunger 16 in the bore 17.

The bottom surface of the body 12 is formed with an annular recess 21surrounding the opening of the passageway 14 into the container, and inwhich is positioned a suitable resilient sealing material 22 such asplastic or rubber, or the like.

A valve member 24 in the shape of a circular disc is formed with anupstanding, annular rib 25, adapted to mate with the sealing material22; and an annular sleeve 26 is shown depending from the base of thebody 12 and surrounds the valve member 24. This sleeve 26 extends beyondthe valve member and is formed with an inwardly extending rib or ledge27 that partially underlies the valve member 24. It will be noted thatthe valve member 24 is not permanently attached to the body 12 and theledge 27 serves to restrict the movement of the valve member confiningit to the vicinity of the passageway opening. The ledge 27 is preferablymade flexible so that, in assembly, the valve member may be snapped intoposition.

In the embodiment shown, fluid composition to be expelled is containedwithin a bag 29 which is attached to the sleeve 26, and the propellantis in the container surrounding the bag.

In operation, the lever 19 is manually depressed at its left side, asviewed, to pivot about the pin 20 and push the plunger 16 downwardly.The plunger, at its lower end, engages the upper surface of the valvemember 24, preferably somewhat off-center, and tilts same downwardlyfrom the position shown in FIG. 1 to that shown in FIG. 3 in whichlatter position the valve member is unseated relative to the sealingmaterial 22 so that the composition in the bag 29, under pressure of thepropellant, can escape to atmosphere through the vertical leg of thepassageway 14 in the plunger 16 and the horizontal leg in the body 12.

Upon release of the lever 19, the pressure in the bag acting upon thevalve member 24 returns same to its normal, closed position as shown inFIG. 1, thus sealing the content of the bag from further discharge.

The area of the bottom of the valve member will, of course, be ofsufficient size, depending upon the pressure in the bag to close andseal the discharge passageway, without the need of a spring or otherresilient material, when no pressure is exerted on the lever 19; and yetit will be small enough to permit easy actuation by manual pressure. Theradial thickness of the upstanding annular rib should be as small aspractical so that the pressure on the face of the rib will be greatenough to insure a good seal. Those persons skilled in the art will bereadily familiar with the formulae necessary to derive proper valvemember size depending upon the particular application. As Bernoullisprinciple demonstrates, a pressure drop will occur across the valvemember when same is tilted to open position so that the internalpressure acting on the bottom of the valve memberwill be greater thanthat on its upper surface, thus tending to move same to its normal,closed position.

Turning now to FIG. 4, there is shown an embodiment similar to that ofFIGS. 1 to 3, but utilizing a vapor tap to permit some propellant to mixwith the discharging content of the bag. The various parts aresubstantially the same as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, but a vapor tap30 is provided in the form of a passage in the body 12 communicating atone end directly with the propellant space between the bag and the outercontainer, and including one or several small holes (not shown) throughthe sealing material 22. The face of the rib or bead 25 on the valvemember 24 normally closes the hole or holes so that no propellantescapes; but when the valve is opened, a quantity of propellant,dependent upon the size and the number of the holes, is discharged alongwith the bag content.

In FIG. 5, I demonstrate that the principle of the present concept canbe applied to an aerosol package which employs a propellant and twomaterials to be stored separately but discharged simultaneously. Theconstruction of this embodiment is similar to that of FIG. 4 except thatthe valve member 24 is formed with a depending skirt 31 upon which ismounted a second bag 32 that extends down inside of the bag 29. A vaportap may or may not be used; but if one is used, it is as described inthe discussion of FIG. 4. For discharge of the content of the bag 32,one or more holes 34 is bored through the valve member 24 to communicateat one end with the interior of the bag 32, and at the other endopposite the seal material 22.

It will be seen that the pressure of the propellant is transferredthrough the content of the bag 29 to the content of bag 32 to act on thevalve member to urge same to closed position, and that the bags willcollapse as their content is discharged so that a closing pressure ismaintained on the valve member.

When the lever 19 is moved to valve opening position, the valve memberis tilted away from the seal material 22 at its right, as viewed,to-uncover the bore 34 allowing discharge of the content in bag 32, topermit direct flow of the content of the bag 29 as already described,and to uncover the vapor tap opening, if one is used.

In FIG. 6, I illustrate the application of my invention to a package ofthe type that employs a dip tube. Thus, I show the container anddispensing assembly 11, the package including a fluid composition 35that sinks to the bottom of the container, a propellant that occurs inliquid phase 36 and/or a vapor phase 37. In this case, a dip tubeadaptor 40 is used to connect the dip tube 39 to the sleeve 26. Also, inthis embodiment, I show the valve member 24 as having outwardly anddownwardly tapering side walls to engage a bead 41 formed within thesleeve 26, thus to limit movement of the member 24.

It will be seen that when the valve shown in FIG. 6 is open, thepropellant forces the composition 35 up through the dip tube 39 todischarge. A vapor tab 30 such as described in discussing FIG. 4 may beused, or a tap 42 may be formed in the dip tube to communicate with thevapor phase 37 of propellant, or both may be used.

I have also altered the construction of the valve actuating plungerwhich, in the present case, is shown at 16a and comprises a rod formedwith an exterior thread so that fluid winds up around it and reaches thehorizontal leg of the passageway 14 for discharge. This feature assuresthorough mixing of fluid compositions and is especially recommendedwhere a vapor tap is employed. The body 12 is also recessed as at 44 andthe lever 19 has a mating tab 45 that is normally positioned in therecess to close the exit end of the passageway, thus to prevent exposureto atmosphere and consequent drying of any ingredient left in thepassageway after discharge.

FIG. 7 illustrates another dip tube arrangement in which the valvemember 24 has passageway means 46 that open against the seal material 22and connects with a downwardly extending nipple 47 to which dip tube 39is connected. Upon opening of this valve, product is forced up the diptube through nipple 47 and passageway means 46 to the passageway 14; andpropellant vapor passes between the separated valve member 24 and sealmaterial 22 to mix with product in the groove of the plunger 16a and thehorizontal leg of the passageway 14.

FIG. 8 also uses a dip tube 39, but in this case it is connected at itsupper end to a nipple 49 forming part of a passage 50 in body 12 andincluding a hole (not shown) in the seal material 22. When the valve isopen, product flows up through tube 39, nipple 49, passage 50 andpassageway 14 to atmosphere while propellant vapor can pass through openvalve 24 to passageway 14.

In FIG. 9, I show an embodiment of my present concept according to whichthe container 10 has a rolled upper edge 51 about which a valve cup 52formed of metal 54, lined with plastic 55 is sealed by conventionalrolling. A plastic overcap 56 having a skirt 57 with an internal bead 59is snapped on to the rolled joint and is recessed at 60 to allow the top61 to act as a valve lever due to the flexibility of the plastic. Inthis case, the valve cup is formed with a hub 62 recessed as at 64 tolimit movement of the plunger 16 that has wings 65 for the purpose. Animportant feature of this construction resides in the fact that theplastic lining 55 for the valve cup may be so selected as to provideinherently a good sealing surface for the rib 25 of the valve member 24so that no further sealing material is needed.

The modification illustrated in FIG. 10 comprises a semi-rigid valvebody 70, valve member 71 and conical dip tube adaptor 72. The body isgenerally cupshaped and includes a depressible button 74 connected tothe main section of the body by an annular flexible diaphram 75 so thatthe body, including the button and diaphram may be of one piece. Thevalve member 71 is similar to those already described and is normallyurged upwardly by pressure within the container 76 so that itsupstanding rib 77 bears against the lower surface 70a of the valve bodyto seal the contents of the container against leakage. The adaptor 72 ispress fit into the open end of the body, is funnel-shaped and may have adip tube attached to its stem.

In FIG. 10, the valve is shown in open position as would occur when adownward force depressed the button 74. The pressurized content of thecontainer valve member at its center.

An important advantage of this embodiment, and the embodiments of FIGS.1 to 8, resides in the fact that the body 70 can be formed with anannular external groove 81 so that it can be snapped into the topopening of a container in such a way that the bead 82 on the containerenters the groove 81. I have found that, when so assembled, the pressureacting on the undersurface of the valve member and on the surface 70a ofthe valve body assures a tight seal between the groove 81 and the bead82; while the pressure acting on the vertical side walls of the valvebody tends to expand same horizontally thus to prevent dislocation ofthe body relative to the container.

A similar arrangement is shown in FIG. 1 1, but in this case, dischargeoccurs through the button 84 which is press fit over its stem 85with'the discharge passage consisting of mating bores in each piece.Additionally, an annular ring 86 is press fit into the valve body and isconnected to the valve member 87 by a flexible diaphragm 89. The stem 85and the valve member 87 are off-center relative to the annular ring 86so that upon depression of the button 84, the stem will cause the valvemember to tilt downwardly so that rib 91 is moved away from a seat 92recessed in the valve body to allow product to pass through the diptube, a bore 93 through the valve body and its rib 91 to the bores inthe stem 85 and button 84 to atmosphere. As shown, the dip tube mayconveniently he slipped over a short tube 94 depending from the valvemember and communicating with the bore 93.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment utilizing a body member formed forsnap-in assemble with a container bead, as in FIGS. and 1 1, butarranged with an overcap configuration. Thus, the valve body 100 has adepending skirt 101 formed with an enlarged rim 101a to engage the bead102 of the container. Again, the pressure in the container assures agood seal and a firm connection.

The body also has an outer depending skirt 104, the lower edge of whichsits on the domed container top just within the crimped connectionbetween it and the container side wall. The body 100 may have a flat topwall 105, as shown, which is somewhat thickened as at 106 within theconfines of the inner skirt 101 and centrally recessed, as at 107, toprovide a thin region 108. An integral stem 109 depends from the centerof the thin region 108 to contact a valve member similar to member 87shown in FIG. 11; and a discharge passage 110 in the body 100communicates with the recess 107. An atomizing nozzle 111 may beconveniently positioned at the downstream end of the passage 110, asshown.

In this embodiment, I prefer to form the body 100 of polyethylene orother plastic which has some flexibility so that it can be centrallydepressed to cause the stem 109 to unseat the valve member in a manneralready described. Product then flows through the dip tube and the valvepassage, into the recess 107, through passage 110 and atomizer 111 toatmosphere.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that l have contributeda pressurized package including a dispensing assembly having a valvearrangement wherein the net force acting on the valve member to closeand seal same is derived solely from the pressure within the container,thus obviating the need for the conventional spring or equivalentresilient member. By the various embodiments illustrated and described,I have shown that my present invention can be employed in a variety oftypes of pressurized packages.

I believe that the construction and operation of my novel package willnow be understood, and that the advantages of my invention will be fullyappreciated by those persons skilled in the art.

Iclaim:

1. A package of the class including a container, a fluid composition inthe container, propellant means also in the container for dischargingthe composition from the container, and a dispensing assembly mounted onthe container and comprising a body, an outlet passageway formed in theassembly and communicating with the interior of the container and havinga recess opening into the container, a plate-like valve member includinga section in fixed mating engagement with the interior wall of saidrecess and formed with an element constructed and arranged to be actedupon by material under pressure in the container normally to close saidpassageway to prevent the flow of material from the container, saidsection and said element being integrally connected by flexible meanswhereby free floating relative movement therebetween may be effected,said plate-like valve element having an upstanding annular rib-likeportion, a through bore having one end opening in said rib-like portionand having the other end opening into the interior of the t igfiiisiivlrii iaii rlilfiifi %il f tv 23%? normal passageway closing position,a valve stem movable in response to a force applied manually for actingeccentrically against the plate-like valve element to tip same to itsopen position to effect fluid flow communication between the passagewayand said through bore leading into the interior of the container, thenet force acting on the valveelement to seat same on said valve seat andto return said valve stem to its released position being derived solelyfrom the pressure within the container.

2. A package of the class including a container, a fluid composition inthe container, propellant means also in the container for dischargingthe composition from the container, and a dispensing assembly mounted onthe container and comprising a body formed with a passagewaycommunicating with the interior of the container and having a recessopening into the container, a plate-like valve member formed with anenlarged surface constructed and arranged to be acted upon by materialunder pressure in the container, said valve member being free-floatingwith respect to said body, said body being formed with an annular recesssurrounding the passageway opening therein, resilient materialpositioned within said recess and said valve member having an upstandingannular rib normally engaging said resilient material to seal thepassageway against fluid flow communication within the containerinterior, a plunger mounted in said valve body movable in response to anexternal force applied manually for acting eccentrically against theplate-like valve member to tip same to its open position to effect fluidflow communication between the passageway and the interior of thecontainer, the net force acting on the valve member to engage said ribwith said resilient member and to return said plunger to its releasedposition being derived solely from the pressure within the container.

3. A package according to claim 2, wherein said valve member has athrough bore having one end opening in said rib-like portion and havingthe other end opening into the interior of the container.

4. A package according to claim 2, wherein said body hasa passagewaycommunicating at one end with the interior of the container and at theother end with holes through said resilient material.

1. A package of the class including a container, a fluid composition inthe container, propellant means also in the container for dischargingthe composition from the container, and a dispensing assembly mounted onthe container and comprising a body, an outlet passageway formed in theassembly and communicating with the interior of the container and havinga recess opening into the container, a plate-like valve member includinga section in fixed mating engagement with the interior wall of saidrecess and formed with an element constructed and arranged to be actedupon by material under pressure in the container normally to close saidpassageway to prevent the flow of material from the container, saidsection and said element being integrally connected by flexible meanswhereby free floating relative movement therebetween may be effected,said plate-like valve element having an upstanding annular rib-likeportion, a through bore having one end opening in said rib-like portionand having the other end opening into the interior of the container,said body having an annular recessed valve seat against which saidrib-like portion bears when in normal passageway closing position, avalve stem movable in response to a force applied manually for actingeccentrically against the plate-like valve element to tip same to itsopen position to effect fluid flow communication between the passagewayand said through bore leading into the interior of the container, thenet force acting on the valve element to seat same on said valve seatand to return said valve stem to its released position being derivedsolely from the pressure within the container.
 2. A package of the classincluding a container, a fluid composition in the container, propellantmeans also in the container for discharging the composition from thecontainer, and a dispensing assembly mounted on the container andcomprising a body formed with a passageway communicating with theinterior of the container and having a recess opening into thecontainer, a plate-like valve member formed with an enlarged surfaceconstructed and arranged to be acted upon by material under pressure inthe container, said valve member being free-floating with respect tosaid body, said body being formed with an annular recess surrounding thepassageway opening therein, resilient material positioned within saidrecess and said valve member having an upstanding annular rib normallyengaging said resilient material to seal the passageway against fluidflow communication within the container interior, a plunger mounted insaid valve body movable in response to an external force appliedmanually for acting eccentrically against the plate-like valve member totip same to its open position to effect fluid flow communication betweenthe passageway and the interior of the container, the net force actingon the valve member to engage said rib with said resilient member and toreturn said plunger to its released position being derived solely fromthe pressure within the container.
 3. A package according to claim 2,wherein said valve member has a through bore having one end opening insaid rib-like portion and having the other end opening into the interiorof the container.
 4. A package according to claim 2, wherein said bodyhas a passageway communicating at one end with the interior of thecontainer and at the other end with holes through said resilientmaterial.